Hanged!

By a bit of luck and help from a friend I have had a couple of pictures selected in a photo competition!

Turns out on of our office's was looking for some photo's to brighten up the office. Folks from that office were asked to submit. I think they had about 100 photos submitted. My friend pinged me and asked if i had any to submit. Luckily i had a few on my work laptop under Google screen saver. I sent 5 images up and two were selected. At least one has been printed at A0 size. (the image to the left of this text!)

Absolutely chuffed to bits. Hope it's not hanging in the loo! Just got to find an excuse to visit the office near Manchester. Probably have to wait to November. Can't wait.

Stourhead - Part II

Lovely gardens - laid out in the 18th century. Well worth a visit if you near warminster, wiltshire.

Stourhead - Part 1

Always good to look up when your taking pictures. Spied this opening in a cave whilst in the stourhead gardens.

National Trust volunteers

We visited stourhead estate last weekend. It's as National Trust trust property and is fantastic for a number of reasons. The trust took it over from the Hoare family (yep those private banker folks).

Any how. Picture the scene. We are inside the main house having a look at the grand public rooms. In each room there are fact sheets and national trust volunteers to guide and keep an eye on the light fingered! Most volunteers are retired folks.

We enter one room, i head for the fact sheet whilst J likes to talk with the volunteer (in her late 80's - prim and proper) . J notices in this room there is as small TV, copy of the radio times and a small tray with bottles of booze on it. Mmmhh not very 18th-century. What's up here ? J starts the following conversation:

J: "So does someone live in these rooms today?"
Vol: "Yes outside of visiting hours"
J: "are they descendants of the original owners?"
Vol: " Yes they are Hoares (pronounced "whores")"

(at this point i have to leave the room through bouts of school boy sniggering)

Volunteer realises what she said and adds after a short pause in a dry and serious voice "in name only".

All you can hear at this point is one seriously creased up 40yr old laughing his head off somewhere at the far end of a long corridor.

Perfect script + comedy timing made it even funnier